


Symphony

by BeAfraidOfWhatIAm



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Bad Boy Michael, Bullied Ashton, Cake are besties, M/M, Mental Abuse, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, Physical Abuse, Sad Ashton, Slow To Update
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-10-13
Packaged: 2019-03-17 20:35:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13666818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeAfraidOfWhatIAm/pseuds/BeAfraidOfWhatIAm
Summary: Luke and Calum have been best friends for years and Luke found himself having a crush on Michael Clifford - Calums biggest enemy





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey,  
> I decided to finally post a story.  
> I dont have WiFi so I might not upload to a few days.  
> Forgive me, I'm in psychiatry right now and I'm not always in the mood
> 
> Anyways, enjoy :)
> 
> I'd love to get some comments to see if you like it

Luke had a bad day. His brothers didn't wake him for school and he had to walk there in the pouring rain.  
After he got himself a towel to at least dry his hair a bit he found out he had a biology test right now and ran to his class, opening the door and passed out.

"Fuck yes, he's awake" a familiar voice called and a hand patted his head. "What happened?" the blond groaned huskily. "You hyperventilated and blacked out. Asthma, huh?" Calum looked down at him and chuckled. "You ran like someone's about to murder you" "I didn't want to miss the fucking test." He groaned again "eventually I did. Coulda stayed at home anyways".

The black haired boy looked at him sympathetically. "You can do it Lukey. I believe in you" Without another warning he threw himself on the younger one. "I was so worried, don't scare me like this again, okay?"  
Their faces were so close that a slight movement would connect their lips but neither of them did. Their were best friends, of course they kissed a few times but both knew they didn't feel the right kind of love for each other to be more.

The younger boy pulled his mouth to a wide grin and nodded enthusiastically which ended up in cracking their noses together.

"Ouch, you always hurt me" Calum poutedand got up. "I gotta go to maths though, I called Ben to collect you and bring you home. He should be here in a few minutes. Lucky boy" He offered Luke a shit eating grin and left the school nurses room while the blonde sat up and fixed his now messy hair.

"Lukey" his older brother said softly and looked at him. "We left you a note saying you should call in sick and stay home. Let's go" He took his younger brothers Bag and walked with him to the car to drive back to their house.  
Luke liked their house a lot. He grew up in there and his dad did his best to make sure his sons had a good life until he passed away a few months ago. 

The house felt like home, the smell of the fireplace all over and the dark wood of the floor that cracked on the 5th and 13th step to Luke's bedroom. 

When he stepped inside he stopped a moment to take it all in before he took a breath of his spray and went into his room to study for the biology test.

Luke Hemmings didn't like biology. In fact he didn't like any subjects that had nothing to do with maths. He didn't like it that he had to learn facts, he couldn't change anything about it. He had to accept a fact that scientists found out years ago. He couldn't change the year World War II started and it bothered him.  
Luke Hemmings liked to be able to change things and when he couldn't he was frustrated.

Calum, on the other hand, wasn't good in maths and as his best friend Luke let him copy the homework and helped him cheating in the tests. 

Luke was a typical nerd, at least he used to look like one with his glasses until he decided to wear contacts. But he was never bullied for being himself what was mostly Calums fault. 

His best friend would defend him whenever someone was unfriendly towards him and most people on his school didn't want to be Calums enemy. 

The dark haired boy was known for throwing punches with words, he was sarcastic for most of the time and he would come back immediately after someone said something. 

So, unless being Calums best friend, Luke was a nothing, no one important and not a victim. He was a typical highschooler like most people his age. He was glad he wasn't bullied but he would like to be someone, to get noticed and find love like everyone else around him. 

He wished he had a mother he could talk to about this topic but he didn't know his mother.  
His mother left the boy's in her family when he was 4 years old and she wasn't more than a stranger in his blurred memories.  
He wasn't even sure if these memories were his own or made up one's, his brain creating after his dad told him about her. 

Luke blamed her for being gay. He never had any females in his life, never felt the warm hug of a loving woman except of Calums mother. 

He had only known men and he guessed that was the reason why he was gay. How could he be hetero when he never even knew the soft side of a woman. 

But he didn't mind to be gay and Calum was as well so he was comfortable with it. His family was understanding and no one judged him for it except the girls in his neighbourhood. 

He rejected a few of them, not telling them the reason why and they thought he was weird. They liked his looks and were interested in him but he wasn't. So he ended up as the 'weird kid' and he was fine with it. Honestly


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This ones about Ashton

Ashton crashed face first against the locker and closed his eyes. This was the first thing in school every morning. The bullies would shove him against his locker, beat him up while insulting him and after they threw him on the floor they would leave him alone so he could pick up his stuff and hurry to class. 

The curly haired boy used to hate his life but after years he accepted his fate and gave up the hope that it would change. 

He saw the other students giving him pitiful looks but no one cared enough to help him or tell the bullies to stop. 

Ashton Irwing didn't have friends. Everyone was scared that they would end up like him, but he wasn't sad about it anymore. His life sucked and he was okay with that. 

Quietly he went to his class and sat down. He never really talked in school, actually he didn't talk in general, not even at home. But they had to write a poem for German class for homework and they had to read it out loud in front of the class. 

Shivering he stood in front of the class and tried to calm himself. He couldn't get a panic attack again, the teacher would send him home and his mother would… Ashton gulped and closed his eyes for a moment. 

"Is your tongue tied?" A guy in the back of the class shouted and he opened his eyes again. This guy wasn't one of the bullies but he could see the impatience in his classmates faces. 

He took a deep breath and started reading. 

When he ended he felt like he was about to pass out and he leaned on the blackboard to gain some balance. 

He knew how he looked and he wanted to throw up but he couldn't go home earlier.

"Sir?' A boy in class looked at the teacher. "My friend here isn't feeling well, may I take him to the nurse?" he said in German.  
The boy got up and took Ashtons arm and pulled him out of the room. 

"I don't wanna" he mumbled when they were in the hallway. "What?" The other one asked and looked at him. "Youre about to pass out, you should go home"

"I can't" Ashton was sweating, he started feeling dizzy. "Mum would kill me"

He looked up but he was too gone to recognize the face. "Then have a nap in the nurses room" the boy took him there and Ashton fell asleep almost immediately. 

 

He dreamed of his family. His siblings and his mother were looking at him with disgust in their eye. "You're a waste of space" "You're worthless" "I wish you weren't born" They hated him with a passion he couldn't bring up himself. He didn't know what he did to make them hate him so much but he guessed there was a reason. 

Then, suddenly, a savior entered his dream and told his family to shut up and took Ashton away to a peaceful place and Ashton woke up.   
In his dreams he was free and he wished he could stay asleep all the time.   
During school holidays he overdosed a few times to sleep for days and these were the best days of his life. 

With a glance at his watch he sighed and said goodbye the nurse before he walked to class to get his bag and made his way home. 

When he saw his house he walked slowlier, not wanting to get inside and face his mother.   
He should be used to her behaviour by now but it is something different being bullied by your family than in school. 

He read a lot and he knew that mother's were supposed to protect her children and not abuse them, but he never experienced it himself.  
At least his siblings were safe, his mum was nicer to them than to him. Probably because he was the oldest and he felt the need to protect them even though it meant getting the brunt of it. 

 

Silently he walked into the house, not wanting to attract her attention but it was no use. "Dont you want to say 'hello' to your mother?" She almost screamed at him and he turned around and mumbled "Hey mum, I'm home" 

"Did you let them beat you again?" She asked with a look on his slightly bruised face and he nodded. 

"You're such a disappointment. I thought I raised a man and not a damn faggot" She mumbed to herself and sat down to watch tv and Ashton went upstairs to do his homework. 

He couldn't concentrate on his homework as he heard his mother cursing and breaking something that sounded like plates but he did not want to see her.   
He gave up trying to memorize "Der Zauberlehrling', a famous poem by Goethe and laid down on his bed and closed his eyes to disappear into a peaceful dream of a better life.

That was until his younger brother jumped onto him and demanded his attention. "Mom's gone again and she said you're making dinner tonight" the young boy said and waited impatiently for his brother to get up. 

Their mother left the house randomly for hours and left it to Ashton to take care of his siblings. No one knew where she was but by morning she would be back. 

"Okay let's have a look what we got to eat" He made his way downstairs and opened the fridge. "Uhm what about eggs, spinach and potatoes?" 

"I want fries and chicken nuggets" the younger objected. "I dont wanna go to the store now, we're going to eat something we have here"

"We have to go to the store anyways, we don't have toast and milk for tomorrow and mum said something about buying coffee"

"Hurry then, it's almost 6 and we only have 30 minutes left" Both knew that their mum's behaviour was worse when she didn't have coffee and they wanted to avoid it. "Where's Lauren anyways?" He asked while closing Harry's zipper. "At Marissas, she's staying there until 8" 

Great, his mum should start leaving notes. If Harry didn't knew then Ashton would have left her there, not knowing where his sister was. He would have probably called the police and Mum would be furious.   
"Guess you're gonna go to bed at half eight, big boy"  
Harry beamed as he usually had to go to bed at half past seven and he could watch Phineas & Ferb longer. 

At the store the 10 year old took advantage of Ashton and insisted on buying fries and nuggets and with a sigh Ashton gave in.   
He'd rather have his mum angry than dealing with one of Harry's famous blow offs in the store and having people look at him like he would be treating him badly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will take a while, I wrote 2k words already when my phone thought it was funny to delete it all... 
> 
> Besides I'm having the flu and all I do all day is taking naps

Friday 4. 7. 14

 

Luke stayed at home for the next two days to study and went to school again on Friday. If he didn't have to repeat the biology exam he would have stayed at home until Monday but he didn't want to repeat the repeat exam. 

He had to stay longer than Calum as the last two lessons were cancelled due to the math teachers illness so he spent lunch break by himself.  
When he ate his turkey sandwich on a bench outside he heard some jocks laughing and saw them pushing around and beating another student who didnt even try to defend himself.

Luke was unsure if he should stay quiet or get up and help and suffer the consequences of being another victim to them.   
When he was about to get up and help the poor boy he saw him. 

The school's bad boy Michael Clifford walked calmly over to the group and shouted something that sounded like 'let him go, fuckers'.   
Luke was stunned, Clifford didn't seem like he would care about some victim of bullies but now there he was, looking as hot as ever in his khaki skinny jeans and hoodie and his black leather jacket and pushed the leader to the ground.   
The blonde observed him kneeling next to the beaten boy and helped him to stand up, sending deadly glares to the others and escorted him back to the school. 

He didn't have time to think about it much because the bells ringed and he jogged over to his biology classroom to write about the genetic differencies of humans and plants. 

 

"What do you mean by 'Clifford defended him against bullies'?" Calum stared at him with a sceptical look as he sat on Luke's bed.   
It wasn't a secret that Calum hated Clifford and he never let pass an opportunity to express that hate. 

"I meant exactly what I said. He threw a punch in that dude's guts and helped the other one to go back to school. Never knew that he cared about people. Usually he ignores everyone..." Luke thought about that situation again. Clifford looked furious but hot as he scanned the area with his green eyes. The eyeliner suited him very well and the black hair was messy after he slipped off his hood to have a better view on them.

"… probably someone else…. Luke?" He waved his hand in front of his face to get his best friends attention. "Are you even listening to me?"   
The blonde one shook his head "Yeah… I mean no. Sorry Cal" He gave him an apologizing smile and fixed his hair once again. 

The older boy let out a theatralic sigh and pouted. "Rude, you're supposed to listen to what your very best friend has to say" 

"Dont act like a baby, you know I love you" Luke said and squeezed his queeks. "Yes you do" Calum said with a satisfied nod and pulled him into a hug. 

Both of them needed a lot of cuddles and they enjoyed the time with each other. They laid on Luke's bed and when the younger one was about to drift into sleep the older boy started to talk quietly. "Maybe we… I don't know. We should help that dude"  
The blonde needed a few seconds to understand that he was talking about the bullied boy. 

"You wanna replace me?" He was hardly awake and his answer earned him a light slap in on his head. "Never in a billion years. Besides you won't get rid of me that easily, Hemmo." The slight chuckle turned into a serious voice again. 

"If we're talking about the same boy then I wanna help him. I've seen him a few times already and we have German class together, remember?." 

He didn't say that he had seen the boy struggle to talk in front of the class a few days ago when Luke was sent home due to his asthma. 

He hasn't told Luke that he helped the boy to the nurses room and that he felt the strong urge to protect him from harm. 

"You mean we have classes with him? I never noticed…" Luke blinked a few times, trying to remember but there was nothing. "Do you know his name?" 

Calum shook his head no. "I thought it's something with A. Anton or Adam, or -"

"Anton" Luke giggled loudly and cringed visibly. "What's so funny?" The older boy asked confused. "Who'd name their child Anton hahahaha…. Anton" 

"If it's important to you we can approach Anton Monday" he said with a small giggle and looked up at the ceiling where the glowing stars were still sticked to after all these years.

 

Saturday 5. 7. 14

An icy breath of air hit Luke when he walked to the bus stop to meet up with Calum in town. The older one had offered to pick him up but both knew it would be a big detour so he objected and walked the few hundred meters in the snowstorm. After only two minutes Luke felt like the frozen snowflakes scratched away half of his face and by the time he stepped inside the bus he did not only have a red face with melted snow in it, but snow in his jacket and sweater, even in his socks and shoes.   
It started to snow from one second to another and everyone in the bus was as surprised as him.   
After only 10 minutes not only the streets but also everything else was covered in the white cold and the bus was moving slow, oh so slow. 

Usually the ride would take approximately 15 minutes but today he needed almost 40. 

Immediately after leaving the bus the blonde fled into a tiny shop he never noticed before just to escape the storm on the outside. 

He looked around and wondered why he had never seen this cosy CD shop before. It reminded him of home. Albums and EPs everywhere in old shelves and couches around a fireplace with Walkmen on them to listen to them.

While he was standing close to the fireplace he felt his phone vibrating and with cold hands he fished it out of his wet jeans to see who it was. 

He had 4 missed calls, 3 messages of the telephone service and 7 messages from Calum. 

He opened Calums   
Chat and started reading. 

From: Calliii :)  
4:22pm  
My mum refuses to let me drive. Said something about bad weather. It's sunny outside so idk. Imma talk to her again, might be late

From: Calliii :)   
4: 34pm  
I hope you're not on the bus yet, it started to snow and mum said it's gonna get worse

From: Calliii :)  
4:39pm  
Holy shit this is gonna be a fucking blizzard. Stay inside 

4:41pm. Missed call from: Calliii :)

From: Calliii :)  
4:43pm  
Are you okay? Answer the phone

4:44pm. Missed call from Calliii :)

From: Calliii   
4:45pm  
I'm getting worried. Are you in town? 

From: Calliii :)  
4:49pm   
Just seen my messages aren't sending, probably the snow. Hope you're alright though

4:50pm. Missed call from Calliii :)

From: Calliii :)   
4:55pm  
Message me asap and STAY INSIDE wherever you are, okay?

5:03pm. Missed call from Calliii :)

 

Luke looked at the time. It was 5:07pm and when he tried to look outside he couldn't see anything. The storm seemed to get stronger and stronger with every passing minute and he let out a sigh and started typing a message to Calum and his brothers so they didn't have to worry. 

 

To: Calliii :)  
5:09pm  
I'm in town and I'm alright. I'm in a tiny store next to the mall and I'm staying here until it clears. Shitty weather but at least I can think about buying myself birthday presents :)

 

To: Ben & Jack  
5:13pm  
Hey I'm in town and don't worry I'm alright. The storm surprised me but I'm safe in a store next to the mall, maybe you can pick me up later but no worries, it's a nice shop xx Luke

 

"Are you okay, love?" A woman asked and surprised he turned around. "Yeah I needed to get inside. I was freezing." Only by now he saw the wet steps he left on the wooden floor. "I'm sorry about the mess, can you give me something to clean it?" He asked slightly blushing. 

"Dont worry love, it's alright. I am going to clean tomorrow anyways" she smiled comforting and Luke decided he liked it here. "Would you like something to eat? Or something to drink? I was about to prepare something for myself anyways" She added quickly when she saw him open his mouth to turn down the offer.

"Well then yes?" He asked and she smiled again. "I'm glad I don't have to eat all alone. Not many people come in here."

"To be honest I never noticed your shop before" he politely said, carefully watching her face and not wanting to upset her. 

"Yeah, a blinking neon sign would destroy the atmosphere here" she sighed for a moment before she smiled again. "Maybe CDs aren't up to date anymore but a few people like coming in here and listening to the music just like the old times. My son aswell"

"My friend told me about a store he visited with his parents in Ireland. It was almost the same as your shop but with books. They had a small diner in there and the people could read while they were eating… yeah" he shrugged. "When I looked around in here this came to my mind"

"Thats a nice idea… I just feel like it would ruin the CDs if people touched them with food on their fingers." 

"That's what I thought too when he hold me. Most books provably have stains on them or something" 

 

They talked for a while even after they finished the snack the woman prepared and she told him her son was his age and he'd rather drive around on his bike than studying for school which upset her a bit.

 

When Ben collected him from the store a few hours later both of them forgot to ask the other one for their name.


	4. Birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Its Ashtons 20th birthday

I've written that chapter while ago but my lovely phone deleted it and I was too lazy to type it again.   
It's different than the one I wrote before but yeah. 

WARNING: This is an Ashton chapter and Ash gets bullied and mentally abused. If you're in a depressed mood or struggling at the moment I wouldn't recommend you to read this. 

You can skip this chapter and go straight to Chapter 5 - what happens in this chapter will be explained in the next few chapter so you don't miss anything.

 

 

Monday 7.7.14

When Ashton woke up he let out a sigh. It was his 20th birthday and his birthdays were horrible every year.   
Not only his family ignored that day, his mother made no effort to hide the fact that she regretted that day he was born. 

Usually it wouldn't upset him much but it was something different on his birthday.   
When he was younger he got some presents but when he got older it stopped. He wasn't sure what happened to his mother but she started to hate him like he was responsible for everything that went wrong in his life. 

And maybe he was. If his mother didn't get pregnant with him she could have had finished College and go to university to study medicine like she wanted. Instead she had to take care of a baby while watching her dreams disappear. 

With a frown he realized hat his mother was actually ignoring him, not only his birthday so he decided to skip breakfast and go straight to school even though his stomach let out a loif growl. He couldn't deal with his mother now. Not today.

When he entered the schoolyard he saw the boy who helped him a few days ago when his bullies were beating him and he gave him a tiny smile which made the other boy smile aswell. 

"You okay?" The black haired boy asked and followed him. "Yeah I am" he hoped his voice wasn't shaking so the other one wouldn't worry about him. Not that anyone would ever worry about him.   
"I'm Michael, just call me when you're in trouble again. I'm gonna give you my number"

Ashton shook his head and looked up. "Don't have a phone" He mumbled and almost laughed when he saw the look at Michael's face. "Really? No phone? Well just yell or something I'm probably going to hear you" 

Ashton nodded his head, knowing that he wouldn't yell for help anyways. He was too proud, and he deserved being beaten by his bullies.

His classes went by fast and with a look at his schedule he found out he had PE now.   
The gym wasn't in the main building and it was a 5 minute walk over there. A walk Ashton usually enjoyed as being outside calmed him.

This time he froze in place when he saw Dave and Steph waiting for him with smilies on their faces. "Ash, we've been waiting for hours" Dave said in a dramatic tone and threw his arm around Ashtons shoulders. 

When he flinched Dave looked at him with a frown. "Are you scared? We would never hurt you Ash, would we?" He asked his right hand man Steph who shook his head. "Never" 

"Actually we got a suprise for you. It's your special day after all and you're not getting the usual treatment" his bully said in a friendly voice, still smiling but his arm on Ashtons shoulder pressed down hard which started to hurt a lot. 

In the back of his mind he was thinking about how they found out that it was his birthday, but he was trying not to cry or having a panic attack.

Suddenly the pressure was gone and Dave walked to his best friend. While Steph looked almost bored, Dave was still smiling but his eyes were cold and cruel. 

"Your classmates are all in the gym by now. Let's get started, shall we?" 

 

 

When Michael was about to exit the school and walk home he heard a few people talking about Ashton. "He's been sitting there for hours, weird kid" 

Without hesitating he walked up to the kids. "Excuse me" he said in an almost boring tone. "Where's Ashton?" 

"Uhm at the gym" a blonde girl shyly said and fixed her hair, probably wanting to impress him but Michael was already running over to where Ashton was.

 

 

Ashton was blankly staring at the ground. He didn't know how much time has passed and he didn't care. He didn't exist right now, trapped somewhere inside his mind oblivious to what was going on around him.

He didn't notice the boy who was asking him if he was alright, didn't notice the boy sitting down next to him and hugging him several minutes long. 

"Ashton?" A soft voice said and he snapped out of it. "Are you with me?" The voice asked again and he nodded. "What happened?" 

He took a deep breath and he tried. He really tried but the words were stuck in his throat. "They… they…" He started coughing and felt tears welling up and he blinked fast to hold them back. "I can't" He chocked and started hyperventilating until Michael took his hands and sat down in front of him. "Breath with me. Breathe in…. And out…." He repeated this until the curly haired boy was breathing normally again. 

"Let's get you home, okay?"

 

They walked to Michael's car and got in. "What's your adress?" The younger one asked and when Ashton told him he started the car and drove the opposite direction. "That's the wrong way" Ash said quietly and Michael nodded. "We're getting you a phone so we can avoid what happened today happen again" 

"I don't have that much money with me" he objected and Michael shook his head. "But i do, don't worry about that"

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say because Ashton tensed. "I don't want this. Let me out." 

They had to stop at a traffic light and Michael turned his head. "You can't get out right now. We're on a highway. If you don't want me to buy you a phone then I won't, I promise. Let's just have a look, okay?" 

He started driving when the light went green and Ashton agreed. "Just a look" His mother wouldn't let him have a cell phone and if she found out he had one she'd think he stole it. They both knew that Ashton didn't have the money or friends who would buy him one.   
His mother didn't have a phone herself, they didn't have WiFi either, only an old TV. 

Anne was paranoid, thinking that the modern technology would enslave the human race one day so she boycotted it and made her children to boycott it too. 

 

Michael and Ashton went into a media shop and had a look at the smartphones. Ashton politely walked next to him and nodded when he said that one was nice aswell but honestly he didn't like them at all. He liked that handy mobile phones that could send SMS and do calls - nothing more. He didn't need mobile data or a camera or a music player but Michael didn't seem to get it. 

"Which one would you like?" The black haired boy finally asked and with a shrug Ashton pointed to the tiny old mobile phones. "They don't even have a touchscreen" The badboy gasped and the birthday boy shrugged again. 

"See I've got an idea. I've got a few phones at home, if you want you can have one of that, alright? I'm gonna lend it to you until you have on yourself."

 

When Ashton came home at 6:15pm his mother was waiting for him in the kitchen. "You're late. 20 years old and still can't read the time" She simply said and he nodded. "I'm sorry" His mother didn't even look angry, only annoyed - something Ashton was used to. Whenever he was around she always looked annoyed.   
"I left you some pasta in the microwave. I'm gonna have to do an extra shift in a few minutes. Harry and Lauren are at my mum's and there's desert in the fridge."

When he opened the fridge he saw a few pieces of cake in there and he smiled softly.   
His mother acknowledged his birthday, even though she wasn't exactly friendly she made sure he didn't have to babysit his siblings and she even prepared dinner for him.   
And Michael gave him a phone. 

Maybe today wasn't that bad after all.


	5. Detention

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke has detention and its not as horrible as he expected

Thursday 10.7.14

Calums eyes were wide open and he gasped in a breath. "Detention? But we never get detention" The blonde shrugged. "I was late a few times."

A concerned look appeared on the older boys face and he let out a sigh. "You know the bad eggs will be there as well, just stay away from them, okay?" 

Luke nodded and smiled at Calum. "I promise. I don't want to talk to those losers from the football team anyways and the freaks even less, don't worry"

His best friend started smiling as well, he couldn't stop it even if he wanted to. Luke did that to him, made him things he didn't want to but actually he did want them. 

"So I heard you wanna beat my ass?" Luke giggled slightly and before he even had the chance to ask he grabbed two controllers and threw one at Calum.  
Realisation hit his face and he smirked. "I'm gonna beat your loser ass so hard you'll have trouble sitting the next few days"

They both started playing a game on Luke's PlayStation and they would hit each other's legs and arms when they died in the game. 

If someone entered the room now they wouldn't notice it. They were far too caught up in the game and everyone wanted to win the battle they fought everyday.

 

When Luke walked into the empty classroom he had to see it wasn't empty at all. Michael Clifford was sitting in the back of the class, oblivious to everything around him and listening to music.  
Luke heard the bass from 5 meters away and when he recognized the song he started smiling slightly. He liked All Time Low and Oh Calamity! was one of his favourites. 

He sat down next to the window in the second row and waited for the teacher. He never had detention before and he was anxious of what was going to happen.  
Exactly when the hands of the clock hit 4pm an elderly woman came into the room and looked at both of them. "Mr. Luke Hemmings and Mr. Michael Clifford, right?" 

Luke heard a "yeah obviously" from behind him and he was honestly suprised that his voice was this deep. He's never heard him talk before, only shouting on the yard a few days ago.

"Why are you here?" The white haired woman asked him and Luke blinked. "I uhm…. Was late… a few times" 

"Well yeah maybe you should set an alarm or something. Mr Clifford what about you?" She asked louder and looked at the boy behind him. "I got into an argument… a few times" 

He was clearly imitating Luke with the last part of his sentence and chuckled slightly. 

"Alright, you're both going to copy the school's rules and when you're finished you can go. I'll be in the next room waiting for you to give me your papers. I don't wanna see you here again, am I clear?" 

The woman left the room and Luke let out a groan. Having detention was bad enough but being alone with Clifford made it worse. Calum would freak out if he found out and start ranting about how much he hated Clifford and Luke didn't like it.  
Maybe he had a little crush on Clifford but he wasn't ready to admit it to himself yet.

"You're Hood's friend, right?" He heard a voice, Michaels voice, say and he took in a deep breath before answering without turning around "Yeah." 

"And you're the one who has the best grades in maths and stuff." 

"Yeah"

"And you used to wear glasses"

Now Luke turned around. "Are you a fucking stalker? I've never talked to you" he spat out and looked at the older boy angrily who put his hands up in defense. "Woah calm down, I just wanted to make conversation since we're stuck in here for a while" 

Luke snorted. "Conversation? That's more like creeping the sugar out of me" He started looking angry again when the black haired boy chuckled again. "Scare the sugar out of you?"

The blonde boy blushed slightly but held the mad glance. "I'm not a fan of swearing" His brother's and his dad have told him that his mother was against swearing in any way so his family tried to avoid it. 

"Against swearing? As much as I remember you called me a 'fucking stalker' before" He raised an eyebrow and Luke had to hold back a pout. Why was everyone able to do that? If he tried to move his brows it looked like he was holding back a fart or something. 

"That's not swearing that's being honest" he said but his mouth tried to slip into a smile. 

"Sooo where's the Hood guy?" The badboy asked and Luke looked at him confused. "I don't know I've never had detention before, you should know where he is not me" 

It took the younger boy a few moments to realize that 'the Hood guy' was Calum and he prayed that his crush wouldn't see him blush. 

"I meant your friend, not that freak who runs around with hoodies on all the time" Michael explained and the blonde put on his bitchface. "Then you should have said Calum cause that's his name."  
The dark haired boy groaned and repeated his question, demonstrative saying Calum this time and looked at him expectantly. 

"He's at home, he's never late so I'm here alone" Luke said and scribbled tiny drawings on his paper. "I'm gonna get started, I don't wanna spend all afternoon in here with you."

He turned back to copy the rules on his paper and rolled his eyes when he didn't hear the other boy writing aswell. "What?" He growled and the only response he got was a chuckle. 

"I think I like you. You're funny" Clifford said after a while and Luke felt himself getting furious again. "What's your fucking problem? Are you a psycho? Do you think its funny to annoy people and get on their nerves? People like you are the reason why people hate school so what about shutting your fucking mouth and ignore everyone like you always do" 

The blonde wasn't sure why he got so angry and almost yelled at the boy he had a crush on and felt sorry for him. 

"Ignore you like you ignored the fact that people were bullied right in front of you?" 

He turned around and looked at the older boy. "I was about to help him when you showed up, don't you dare blaming me for doing nothing when you have no idea of what happened"

"Oh I know exactly what happened. You were scared that they would beat you up aswell so you watched Ashton getting hurt without doing something. There are two kinds of evil people in the world. Those who do evil stuff and those who see evil stuff being done and don't try to stop it" 

If this wasn't serious, Luke would have laughed when Michael quoted a part of 'mean girls' but instead he glanced angrily at the black haired boy.  
"Yeah I was scared, okay? And I wasn't sure what to do and when I decided to help you appeared. I'm trying to be his friend to make sure they won't do that again"

"Ashton doesn't need friends who would watch him getting hurt to save their own asses. He deserves the fucking world and I won't watch you and Hood letting him down" 

Both of them were quiet for a long time, both thinking about what was said between them. At least Luke thought that Michael was thinking about it too. 

"We won't let him down" He finally said quietly and turned around when he didn't get an answer. 

"You're hot when you're angry" Clifford said out of nowhere, not showing any sign that he heard what Luke said except for nodding his head slightly. 

"Same goes to you" the younger boy answered which caused Michael to laugh. "I think I didn't introduce myself properly. I'm Michael" "Luke"

They both smiled at each other, knowing that they were about to become friends.


	6. Friends?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The reason why lying is unhealthy.  
> I suck at summaries

Calum noticed how his best friend changed. In a positive way, he smiled more often, joked around and started behaving protective towards Ashton. 

He knew something happened in detention but Luke didn't tell him anything. Just the typical jocks and copying the school's rules. Nothing spectacular and he didn't want to repeat that experience. 

Calum was upset that his best friend wasn't completely honest but he didn't want to cause a scene so he didn't ask again.

He noticed how Luke didn't come over very often. He said something about school work or driving lessons, going out with his brother's and stuff like this and Calum got more sceptical every day. 

Maybe he was in love and had a new boyfriend but that wouldn't be something he had to hide from Calum. 

He spent his days by himself studying or playing video games with his sister and he realized how much he missed her. Almost the same as he missed Luke.

 

Meanwhile Luke, Michael and Ashton were sitting on Michael's bed. If they were at Luke's it would only be a matter of time until Calum would find out that he was hanging out with the guy he hated and Ashton wasn't allowed friends at home. And Michael's mother was working in the afternoon so they wouldn't be disturbed. 

"Don't you feel bad for lying to Calum?" Ashton said in his usual quiet voice and Luke let out a sigh. He'd explained the whole situation to the boys before but the oldest of them just wouldn't understand. 

"He hates me" Michael said patiently and patted his dogs head. His Bobtail Gretchen claimed most of the bed and napped like she did most of the time. 

"He wouldn't hate you if he knew you" Ashton answered and looked at both of them. "Lying is bad, you're risking you friendship" 

"I don't, he won't find out and I'm actually not lying, I do have school work to do and I am taking driving lessons. It just doesn't take that much time…" The blonde defended himself, knowing that Ashton was right. "Just… don't tell him, please?" 

The three boys shoved the huge dog off the bed and snuggled into the soft blankets to watch Hitman, apparently Michaels favourite movie that neither Ashton nor Luke have ever seen.   
But Luke couldn't concentrate, he was thinking about how he betrayed Calum, how he ditched him for spending time with the guy he hated. It didn't take long until he got up and gave his friends an apologetic smile. "I'm going over to Calum, I'll see you in school tomorrow" 

Since Michael got Ashton a phone he messaged him a few times every day to make sure the older boy knew that he had friends who would stand up for him. 

When he knocked on Calums door he heard a voice from inside, saying 'Who's there' and Luke smiled. "You" "You who?"   
"Glad you're happy to see me" Mali opened the door and pulled him into a hug. "Where the hell were you? You were like gone for years" 

Luke instantly felt bad again. It was true, he didn't visit the Hoods that often anymore and he made a mental note to come over more again.   
"Where's little Hood?" He asked and the beautiful girl gave him a thumbs up. "Thanks Lee" he said and sneaked upstairs, skipping the last step that made a noise and would have warned Calum.   
But when he slowly opened the door he saw his best friend taking a nap so he simply laid down beside him and cuddled up against him like they used to do when they were younger. 

It didn't take long for Calum to wake up and he smiled when he recognized the blonde. "I thought you were out with your brother's?" Luke frowned for a split second and started to poke the older boy. "Didn't take as long as expected. Be glad I'm here" he added with a laugh and the other boy nodded. "I am. I only see you in school and we're never alone since Ashton hangs out with us most of the time. I mean I like Ashton but I miss spending time with my best friend alone oh my God I'm ranting again, right?" Calum laughed and pulled Luke onto him. "Hardly. I'm used to you. Anyways there's this new Deadpool movie in cinema next week, wanna go there? Maybe with Ashton?"

"Yeah… I'd like that" the older boy frowned for a second, secretly hoping he and Luke would go alone but he guessed since Ashton didn't have friends, cinema was something he didn't experience that often before. 

"Awesome, I'm gonna message him" Luke happily said and took out his phone only to see Calums hurt expression. "You have his number? He told me he didn't have a phone." Luke shrugged, mentally cursing himself for letting it slip out. "Apparently he got a phone on Monday evening or something. I'm gonna give you his number. He doesn't have whatsapp though, he has a tiny Nokia."

Calum seemed alright with this explanation and seemed to remember something as he started beaming. "I forgot to tell you something. We got a cat" 

Luke gasped. "How could you forget that? Why? Since when? Where is it and what's his name?" 

His best friend laughed and got up off his bed and pulled Luke with him. "First of all, its a she. When Mum left open the door she slipped in and napped on the couch the whole day with no one noticing. She refused to go outside again until dad literally threw her out. Since a few days she uses every opportunity to get inside and sometimes she comes up my room and sleeps in my bed. My mum called the animal shelter and they said we should keep her until someone claims she's their pet. We don't have a name yet" he gasped for air after talking that long without taking a breath. 

Luke giggled and started looking around. "And where Is she now? I wanna meet her."   
His family never had pets but he had always wanted one and now that his best friend had one he wanted to cuddle her. 

"Well actually I have no idea, she's probably sleeping somewhere but she comes and goes when she wants. We'll have to wait" 

"What does she look like then" Luke asked again, almost dying of curiosity. "Jet black with orange eyes. Actually her eyes are really scaring and I've never seen her blink once" 

"What about Raven then? Like the scientist in 'The 100'" Calum thought about it. "To be honest I was thinking about Lucifer cause she kind of scares me but mum didn't want a boys name for a female cat and especially no demonic name. But Raven is a nice name. Okay its official her name is Raven" He announced, hands up in the air like he had an audience that would actually cheer. 

"Alright, so let's beat each others asses. I'm pretty sure I'm still better than you" Luke threw himself on Calums bed and grabbed the PlayStations controller, feeling comfortable like the old times when it was only him and his best friend. When Calum was all he needed.

 

On Friday the two best friends went to cinema with Ashton. As expected the oldest hasn't been to cinema before and was utterly exited. The usually quiet and thoughtful boy behaved like a little puppy, almost jumping around like a bouncy ball until they finally sat down on their seats in the hall. 

While Calum was kind of quiet, Ashton made up for it, crunching the popcorn and emptying the whole bag when they haven't even seen half of the movie so Luke gave him his bag and looked on his phone.

He got a message from Michael saying "Turn around" When he did, he saw the black haired boy sitting in the last row with a wide grin, giving him a thumbs up and Luke turned to look on the big screen, trying to hide his smile which he failed to.   
Luckily there was a funny scene so everyone in the cinema laughed when Deadpool did something stupid again.   
But Luke didn't follow the movie anymore. His thoughts were consuming his head and he spaced off, thinking about Michael. 

He realized the older boy was shamelessly flirting with him when they were alone but he wasn't sure if he was serious or not. And why would he sneak into the Cinema with them? Just to see Luke? Not very likely. He probably just wanted to see the movie at the premier show. He'd told Ashton and him that he loved the Deadpool games and it would only be natural to go when he gave Ashton a ride here anyways. 

The blue eyed boy with the lip ring didn't notice how the time went by until the lights went on and his best friend poked him in the shoulder. "Let's go hun"

 

When they went outside, Michael walked to them. "Hey". Except of Calum who looked annoyed the boys all said Hey to the Emo boy.  
"What are you doing here?" The Maori boy spit out and raised a brow, the disgust to see his arch enemy visible on his face.

"Watching Deadpool? And making sure that you're treating Ashton properly. He experienced a lot of shit already and I don't want a rude Fuck like you to let him down" 

Most of the time the older boy ignored him so it was surprising to hear him insult Calum.

Calum gasped and was about to answer but he closed his mouth instead. What was he supposed to say? What Michael said made sense and he had actually been a rude fuck towards him - but not to Ashton. The oldest of them deserved the best and he would rather go to hell than letting him down. 

But there was no way that he would ever agree to something Michael Clifford said.   
Not anymore.

Meanwhile, Michael turned to Ashton and smiled kindly. He didn't know why he felt the urge to protect the older boy and acted more gentle than he had ever been. "How was the movie?"   
He patiently listened to the oldest of them like he would to a little child, happy that the curly haired boy finally talked like he was free of all worries - the way he should.

Calum looked at Luke, who observed the other boys talking with a smile on, and studied his face for a while, wondering about the whole situation until realization finally hit him. Hard. "Are you fucking serious?" He growled and Luke forced himself to stop looking at Michael and Ashton and put his attention on his best friend. "I don't know what you're talking about" 

He knew he wasn't a good actor and that Calum could read him like a book but he still tried.   
"You've got a crush on him? On HIM? You've changed and you fucking lied to me. And you have a crush on Michael the fuck Clifford" Calum was raising his voice now so everyone around them could hear him.   
"You fucking lied to me fucking traitor. You're supposed to have my back and support me. Not secretly meeting the guy I hate and then telling me you can't meet up cause you have to study. Am I a bad friend? Why would you lie to me? We never had secrets"

By now Michael and Ashton stopped talking and observed the situation in front of them. "You know what? I'm done. I'm so fucking done with you and your lies. You don't need me anymore, you got yourself new friends, I understand. Just fuck off and leave me alone" 

There was a dangerous silence between the former best friends and Luke tried to think of something to say. "Cal…" "I'm so done. It's great if you have new friends but why would you lie to me? Don't you trust me? Am I not good enough to deserve the truth?"

Luke swallowed hard, realizing what his behaviour caused. Ashton had been right. He did risk his friendship because he was a coward. He didn't want to hurt Calum or make him mad but this was so much worse.   
Lying wasn't a small thing. There were barely things Calum hated as much as lies. Except for Michael though. 

As his best friend Luke knew what happened in Calums past and he didn't give a damn about it. 

"I'm so sorry" He whispered, trying not to cry as he watched the dark haired boy who apparently struggled with tears aswell.

"I'm gonna go. Goodbye" The Maori boy chocked out, turning around, and leaving Luke with the others and walking to his car, not bothering that Luke didn't have a ride home anymore. 

The blonde watched his best friend go and felt himself tearing up, biting his teeth and clenching his fist. He didn't want it to end like this. 

He fucked up and he made his best friend hate him. 

He barely noticed the arms that hugged him from behind. The only thing that mattered was Calum


	7. Falling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Calum left Luke alone, our fav Mikey is there to pick up the pieces.  
> Kinda short though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have much time lately.   
> Actually I do though, but depression keeps on bullying me.  
> Some affection and nice comments might motivate me.  
> Trying to update next week  
> Sorry

Since Luke didn't have a ride with Calum and his brothers were out he hesitantly agreed to stay overnight at Michael's. Of course he could have called Ben or Jack and they would have driven him home but he didn't want to. His brothers deserved to have a good evening without having to worry about him at least for once. 

That's how he found himself riding shotgun in Michael's car, sitting there awkwardly and listening to Ashton talking about the movie. 

The only thing he said during 15 Minute ride was saying goodbye to Ashton and smiling for a second. 

Right after the oldest of them closed the door and went inside, Michael turned to Luke. "You know I can drive you home. That's not a problem at all" He sensed that Luke wasn't feeling good which was understandable after what happened only 20 minutes ago.

"I'm… not sure" the blonde boy hesitantly said. He lived another 15 minutes away and Michael would have to drive back to his house another 20. And it was already 11:30pm. 

"See, I don't want you to be uncomfortable. If you don't wanna stay overnight it's fine and driving you home isn't bothering me. I just want you to be comfy"

The younger boy smiled at him for a split second before chewing on his lip again. "Doesn't your mom have a problem that you're bringing someone spontaneously?" 

Realizing that Luke basically agreed to come with Michael, the older boy smiled again. "Not at all. She likes meeting people. Plus she doesn't see my friends really often" 

"Then I'm coming with you" The blonde nodded and leaned back into the seat, thinking about how Michael called him a friend, while the black haired boy drove home.

 

After approximately 5 minutes they arrived at Cliffords House. Luke had been there a few times already, but always with Ashton and never alone. And never at night. 

 

"Mum? A friend's staying overnight" The raven haired boy yelled as soon as they entered the small house and after a few seconds a familiar woman appeared and Luke gasped. "This is your mum?"   
"I'm Karen" The woman said and pulled the blonde boy in a hug. "Nice to see you again."

Now it was Michael's turn to be confused. "You know each other?"

Karen nodded and smiled at the blonde boy. "He was the one who walked into the store during the blizzard. I told you about it. He didn't tell me his name by now though. What's your name, love?" 

The blonde flushed slightly and shifted his weight from one leg to the other one sheepishly. "I'm Luke" 

Now Michael talked again, clearly wanted to save his friend from the embarrassing moment and talked to his mother. "He's staying here. His ride drove away without him. You okay with that?" 

"We could drive you home as well, dear. But you're welcome to stay here anytime" 

Michael waited until his friend thanked Karen and went upstairs in his room, pulling Luke with him. "So, if you want you can wear some of my clothes. Feel free to take stuff out of my wardrobe. And there's a spare toothbrush in the top shelf of the bathroom." 

Then the usual confident boy bit his lip. "Does it bother you to sleep in the same bed as me? If it does we can get you a mattress. We have one in the cellar…"

Instantly, the younger boy shook his head and after a moment of both smiling at each other they got ready for bed and Luke laid down next to Michael.   
"Goodnight, Mikey" 

"Sweet dreams, Lukey"

 

When the blonde boy woke again, it was still dark outside. Actually, everything was black around him and he could barely make out the furniture of Michael's room.   
That's when he realized that he was in fact in Michael's room and he looked to the sleeping boy, shocked, that he was sleeping without a blanket because he stole it while he was asleep. 

With a guilty feeling he spread the blanket over the both of them, hoping that the older boy wouldn't catch a cold because of him but when he woke up again later he had stolen it again. 

He placed the blanket over Michael again and that was when he realized how beautiful the older boy was.   
He had noticed that he was beautiful before but now that he was sleeping he looked cute and cuddly and peaceful and Luke had the urge to protect the precious boy of everything bad. 

He then let out a sigh. Calum had been right. He was falling for this guy and he prayed that Michael wouldn't let him down. 

 

When Luke woke for the final time, Mikey was gone. He reached out and found the sheets still warm which meant he only left a few minutes ago.   
Slowly he sat up, stretched his arms and yawned. He was still tired and felt like a zombie until he had a cup of coffee. 

Mh… coffee. He then noticed the familiar smell of just said drink and got up off the bed and got dressed in his old clothes from yesterday before going down in the kitchen.

"Good morning Luke. Did you sleep well?" Karen asked smiling and told him to sit down. "Yeah, morning" Awkwardly he smiled aswell and calmed down only when Michael entered the kitchen. "Oh you're awake" He dropped a bag in his mother's lap and sat down. 

The bag contained a dozen croissants, bagels and all you could think about and Luke felt his face lighten up. He loved having a big and nice breakfast and he'd brunch all the time if he could. It was a bit cliche but gays were supposed to love lunch anyways. 

There was a silence between the three of them that no one wanted to break. Probably because that would mean to stop eating and it was just so good.

"Luke is Calums best friend" Michael finally said and Karen looked at the blonde boy. "Was" said boy mumbled between two bites of croissant and finally swallowed. "He started hating me when I came to like Michael"

He noticed a glare between mother and son. "What?" He asked and after a heavy sigh Karen looked at him. "Michael and Calum used to be friends aswell. In 4th grade or something"

 

"5th" The black haired boy said.   
Luke was confused. He'd known Calum his entire life and Michael was never even near the two of them. But after thinking a while he figured out it must have been the year where Luke was living with his grandparents. His grandma was sick and his father decided to help both of them and they spent months there until she was able to take care of herself and his granddad.

"Anyways, we were kinda close. He seemed alone and I spent time with him to cheer him up."

Luke nodded, wanting to understand why his best friend hated this boy. 

"He figured out he was gay that time and he kissed me to be sure and I kind of avoided him from this time on, doubting my own sexuality.   
I asked a friend of mine for advice, Ollie, and told him about the kiss and stuff and instead of helping me he started to tell everyone that Calum had forced himself on me and people started bullying him."

Michael let out a sigh. "He thought I was the one who spread the whole thing and when I wanted to explain he punched me and said that I didn't have the right to tell Ollie"

The blonde boy noticed how sad Michael's face looked. He couldn't believe that this was the reason why Calum hated Clifford. It was ages ago and he should have forgiven him already.  
But he remembered the changed Calum when he came back after almost a year. He barely talked to him. Or anyone at all and it seemed like it was actually a big deal. 

"That's-" he started saying but Michael cut him off. "That's years ago, he shouldn't dwell on it anymore but he does and I can understand it. I kinda forced him to come out and everyone thought he had harassed me. The DIRECTOR even wanted to kick him off the school. It was really bad"

Karen had been quiet all the time but she nooded once or twice. "It was…"

"Have you tried to talk to him?" He asked and noticed what a stupid question it was, when he saw Michael's facial expression.   
"Only about 5000 times" he said, raising a brow. "And you were next to him at least half of them."

Oh.. yeah… stupid Luke. Of course he'd seen Michael trying to approach many times until he didn't anymore and seemed to give up on him.

"Do… you think he will hate me aswell?" He asked barely audible. He had betrayed him aswell and he couldn't lose Calum.  
Yeah, he had a little, actually a huge crush on Michael, but Calum was his best friend.   
The one he trusted the most, needed the most.   
He realized he was tearing up when he had to blink several times to see more than blurred shapes.

"Oh darling, you're his best friend, he could never hate you" Karen said, hugging Luke und holding him close.   
Maybe the hug was the wrong thing, because now he actually started crying.

"Michael, take Gretchen outside. She probably needs to pee" The blonde woman ordered and her son immediately did so.  
All of them knew, that Luke didn't want anyone to see him cry. 

But Karen was different. She was so mother like and he trusted her.   
He hadn't known how good it felt to be in the arms of a woman.   
Of course, Calums mum had hugged him too, but he found it awkward back then and she gave it up soon.

"Thanks" he croaked, deciding he had wetter her pullover long enough and wanting to pull back but she didn't let him.

"Dont worry, honey. He might take a few days, but he needs you like you need him. Give him time and I bet everything will be alright in less than a week"


End file.
